Home Girl

A design pro spills her secrets

Alison Victoria, Wicker Park resident and adorable host of Kitchen Crashers, has just launched a new project for helping you design your home. And we’re in love.

Here’s how it works: Go online and answer a few questions about the work you need done. Victoria will then send you a questionnaire, which you fill out with your preferences on everything from style (“country farmhouse” or “modern sleek”) to cost limits to color choices. Four to six weeks later, a custom box arrives with instructions on where to start (like get rid of the carpet--pronto), tips for paint colors, suggestions for furniture and more.

In other words, it’s your chance to get Victoria’s design expertise without waiting months for an in-person consultation.

But since we have her attention right now, we thought we’d take the opportunity to ask her our four trickiest home-design questions.

PureWow: Where do you find great (and affordable) pieces of art?

AV: I'm loving Revolving Collections Gallery in Chicago. It's a service that allows me to "lease" my art before committing. I can change it out every month to feature different local artists or photographers, and the credits I get for each payment go toward my final purchase if I choose to commit.

PW: Our home office is in the guest room. How do we make it look cute?

AV: Murphy beds are really making a comeback. But if that isn’t an option, you can’t go wrong with a great sleeper sofa. It will feel like a true office when the bed is tucked away or like a guest room when you pull it out.

PW: How do you choose colors for an accent wall?

AV: You don't! Accent walls are not the way to bring in color. For starters, if you like the color so much, consider painting all of the walls instead of just one. Alternately, I choose to bring color in with the accessories, pillows, artwork and draperies. That way, if I hate, say, yellow in five years, I can easily change it out.

PW: Our condo is pretty small. How can we make it look bigger?

AV: Bring the eye up by hanging drapery rods close to the ceiling line, and avoid too many hanging fixtures--those can cut the space in half.